The war on drugs has become too expensive, the wife of imprisoned marijuana activist Marc Emery told a 91原创 meeting on a proposed new law to limit pot possession arrests.
Jodie Emery was speaking at a Wednesday, March 20 at the Township municipal hall arranged by Sensible BC, a group that is planning a public referendum on a law that would direct police to ease up in cases of possessing marijuana for personal use.
About 50 people turned out for the evening meeting.
Emery noted one study suggests it costs B.C. taxpayers $10.5 million a year to obtain convictions for simple marijuana possession, or about $8,750 per conviction.
鈥淓ven if you鈥檝e never seen a joint in your life, you鈥檙e paying for it,鈥� she said.
鈥淚magine the hospital stays that [amount of money] could pay for. How many laptops would that buy for schools?鈥�
And it鈥檚 not just wasted taxpayer dollars, Emery told the audience, it鈥檚 the disruption to the people imprisoned and their families.
鈥淚t鈥檚 the human cost,鈥� she said.
鈥淭he human toll.鈥�
Her husband, Marc Emery, is currently serving a five-year sentence in a U.S. federal prison for selling marijuana seeds through the mail.
He is known in some circles as the 鈥減rince of pot,鈥� a fact that led Sensible BC director Dana Larsen to introduce Jodie Emery as the 鈥減rincess of pot鈥� before she spoke at the 91原创 meeting.
She said B.C. should follow the lead of Washington State, where voters legalized marijuana for personal use in a November 2012 U.S. referendum, as did voters in Colorado.
鈥淥ur neighbour has legalized it and is moving forward,鈥� Emery said.
Emery is the BC Green Party鈥檚 policing and crime critic, and will be running as the Green candidate in the Vancouver West End riding in the May 14 provincial election.
Lawyer Kirk Tousaw, who wrote the proposed B.C. law, told the forum it was inspired by a Seattle initiative passed 11 years ago that instructed law enforcement officers in the U.S. state to make marijuana 鈥渢he lowest policing priority.鈥�
The Washington policy has saved a 鈥渟ignificant鈥� sum of money without increasing crime, Tousaw said.
鈥淭here are more serious problems to deal with.鈥�
Tousaw appealed to attendees to help sign up voters for the September ballot.
Under B.C. law, 10 per cent of the registered voters in every one of B.C.鈥檚 85 electoral districts must sign the petition within a 90-day period.
The first, and so far, only time the law was successfully used was in August of 2011, when HST opponents forced a vote that got rid of the much-hated new tax.
鈥淲e can鈥檛 do anything without boots on the ground,鈥� Tousaw said.
鈥淲e need help.鈥�
The B.C. group is proposing an amendment to the Police Act that would instruct officers not to spend 鈥渁ny time, money or resources on cases of simple possession of cannabis.鈥�
It would be called the Sensible Policing Act, and would, according to the campaign website, 鈥渆ffectively decriminalize the possession of cannabis in B.C., while leaving the rest of the laws in place.鈥�
Victoria police officer David Bratzer, a member of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition Canada, said most police officers know prohibition isn鈥檛 working, even if they are reluctant to say so in public.
鈥淲e鈥檝e been on the front lines of the war on drugs and we know it鈥檚 a failure,鈥� Bratzer said.
Bratzer said his views do not represent those of his employer, and he was attending the 91原创 meeting on his own time.
The 91原创 forum was held in the fourth-floor Fraser River Presentation Theatre at the Township Municipal hall at 20338 65 Ave., a chamber which is normally used for council meetings.
The Township initially refused the application to use the hall, then withdrew its opposition after the mayor intervened.
The Township issued a written statement saying the decision to approve the use of the chamber did not amount to an endorsement of the campaign.
鈥淭he Township and mayor and council have taken no official position on this issue,鈥� the statement said
鈥淗owever, this is not a requirement for permitting user groups to use our facilities.鈥�
Sensible BC has also held panels in Victoria, West Vancouver and North Vancouver, and at UBC and SFU.
The Union of B.C. Municipalities recently passed a motion in support of legalizing marijuana and polls suggest that only 14 per cent of B.C. residents support the current marijuana laws.
